Rail-joint.



PATENTED SEPT. 25, 1906.

D. J. SNYDER.

RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FILED JAN.15, 1906.

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DUDLEY J. SNYDER, OF EAST SYRACUSE, NEl/V YORK.

RAIL- Specification of Letters Patent.

JOINT.

fiatented Sept. 25, 1906.

Application filed January 15,1906. Serial No. 296,003.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DUDLEY J. SNYDER, of East Syracuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Rail-Joints, of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to railway-track constructions, the object beingto provide a simple, rigid, and inexpensive joint for the meeting railswherein the so-called fishplates can be readily and conveniently appliedwithout the use of the usual clampingbolts, thus obviating the necessityof punching or drilling holes in the plates and rails for said bolts.

To that end the invention consists in the novel construction of therail-joint hereinafter fully described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of portions of twomeeting rails provided with a joint embodying my inven tion. Fig. 2 is atransverse section on the line X X and showing by dotted lines thefish-plates in position to permit the removal of the rail; and Figs. 3and 4 are longitudinal sections on the lines Y Y and Z Z, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, A A denote the two meeting rails, and B B theusual supporting-ties.

C C represent a pair of lislnplates, which are composed of any suitablemetal. These plates are disposed at opposite sides of the rails, asusual, and are provided throughout their lengths with outwardly-inclinedportions a a, which terminate with inwardlyextending horizontal baseportions 1) b, thereby forming longitudinal channels embracing theflanges of the rails A A, by which base portions the rails are seatedupon the crossties B B. Adjacent to the ends of the fishplates the baseportions 1) b are formed with depending stems c c, disposed in pairsbelow the rails, which stems are tapered downwardly, and those of eachpair are curved reversely in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.The ends of said stems are formed with outwardl -projecting hooks (Z d,as more clearly shown in Fig. 2.

D D represent two springs, each of which is composed of a plate ofspring-steel bent transversely at its central-portion to form twooppositely-bowed leaves 6 e and is disposed normally lengthwise of therail, as shown in Fig. 1. The upper leaf 6 of the spring is providedwith an aperture f, through which the pair of stems c c extend, and thelower leaf 6 thereof is provided with a longitudinal slot g, throughwhich the end ortious of the stems pass. The longitucinal edges of thisslot are rolled outwardly to form bearing-lips 71 h, by which the leafis seated in the aforesaid. hooks (Z (1-, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.This slot is of sufficient length to allow the hooks to passtherethrough when the spring is turned at right angles to thefish-plates for the purpose of applying the spring to or removing itfrom the pair of stems.

It will be understood that in the operation of applying the spring tosaid stems the leaves a e are to be pressed toward each other andtemporarily retained in such condition by any suitable means to allowthe pair of stems to be passed through the aperture and slot while thespring is held at right angles to the fish-plates. After the stems haveentered the said aperture and slot the spring is to be wise of thefish-plates, whereby the bearinglips h h are caused to be seated in thehooks d d of the stems. Then by releasing the upper leaf of the springfrom its compression said leaf is permitted to fly upward, and by thewedging engagement of the pair of stems with the aperture thereof thestems are forced toward each other, whereby the plates C C are firmlyclamped to the rails A A.

'i t denote the usual spikes which are em ployed for fastening the railsto'the crossties. In this instance the heads of said spikes bear uponthe channeled portions of the fish-plates.

To permit the spike to be driven into the cross-ties to the usual andproper extent, I prefer to provide the base portions of the fish-plateswith horizontallyprojecting lugs a (1., which are engaged by thespike-heads, as shown in Fig. 1. These lugs are preferably formed byflattening out the said base portions at intervals of their lengths. Ifdesired, the base portions may be flattened throughout their lengths toform flanges to accommodate the spike-heads.

WVhen a rail is required to be removed for the purpose of repairing thetrack or for renewal, the spikes are withdrawn, as usual, and the railsat the joint raised slightly from the cross-ties. Then by applying asuitably turned so as to extend length-' fulcrumed bar to the upper leafof the spring the latter is compressed to relieve the stems from theforce thereof, and by retaining the spring in this condition by asuitable clamp or other means the fish-plates are permitted to be swungout from the rails, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a rail-joint, the combinationwith the two meeting rails, of a pair of fish-plates formed withcorresponding depending portions below the rails, and springs detachablyconnected to said depending portions for clamping the plates to therails as set forth.

2. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, of apair of separable fish-plates formed with stems depending be low therails, and springs detachably connected to the stems for forcing theplates against the rails as set forth.

3. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, of apair of fish-plates formed with depending tapering stems arranged inpairs, and springs having a wedging engagement with said pairs of stemsand forcing the same toward each other to clamp the plates to the railsas set forth.

4. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, of apair of fish-plates formed with longitudinal channeled portions forembracing the flanges of the rails and with stems depending from saidchanneled portions, and springs detachably connected to said stems forforcing the same toward each other to clamp the plates to the rails asset forth.

5. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, of apair of fish-plates formed with depending stems disposed below therails, and detachable springs seated on the ends of the stems-andforcing the latter toward each other to clamp the plates to the rails asset forth.

6. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, offish-plates formed with depending portions disposed under the rails andterminated with outward deflections, and a pair of springs disposedlengthwise of the plates and each composed of a plate bent transverselyat its central portion to form an upper leaf and a lower leaf, the lowerleaves of the springs being seated on said deflections and the upperleaves thereof serving to force the depending portions of the twofish-plates toward each other to clamp the said fish-plates to the railsas set forth.

7. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, of apair of separable fish-plates formed with correspondingdownwardly-tapered depending stems disposed under the rails and arrangedin pairs, springs each composed of a steel plate bent transversely atits central portion to form oppositely-bowed upper and lower leaves, thelower leaves of the springs being provided with bearings on the ends ofthe stems, and the upper leaves thereof provided with aperturesreceiving through them the pairs of tapered stems and serving to forcethe stems toward each other to clamp the fish-plates to the rails as setforth.

8. In a rail-joint, the combination with the two meeting rails, offish-plates formed with longitudinal channeled portions embracing thefla-nges of the rails and with downwardly-tapered stems depending fromsaid channeled portions and arranged in pairs, the stems of each .pairhaving their main portions curved reversely in cross-section and formedat their ends with outwardlyextending hooks, and detachable springsdisposed normally lengthwise of the fish-plates and each composed of aplate bent transversely at its central portion to form oppositely-bowedupper and lower leaves, the

lower leaf being provided with a longitudinal slot receiving through itthe lower ends of a pair of stems and provided with outwardlycurved lipsat the side edges of the slot seated in the aforesaid hooks, and theupper leaf provided with an aperture corresponding with and receivingthrough it the curved portions of the tapered stems and serving to wedgesaid stems toward each other to clamp the fish-plates to the rail as setforth.

DUDLEY J. SNYDER. a. 8.]

Witnesses:

J. J. LAASS, L. H. FULMER.

